UNASSIGNED: Herein, we report for the first time two patients, a 27-year-old female and a 58-year-old male, both with AIH-related compensated cirrhosis at diagnosis, who were refractory to standard immunosuppressive therapies and received add-on third-line therapy with belimumab.
UNASSIGNED: Both patients achieved a complete response and remained in remission while receiving low-dose corticosteroids. No adverse events related to belimumab and/or disease decompensation were observed.
UNASSIGNED: These preliminary findings indicate belimumab as a promising treatment option for patients with AIH and refractory and advanced liver-related fibrosis.
UNASSIGNED: A small proportion of patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) are refractory to standard treatments; these patients bear the highest probability of developing decompensated cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma because third-line treatment options are not well established. In this case study, we showed that third-line add-on therapy with belimumab, a B cell-activating factor inhibitor, could be an alternative and promising treatment option in patients with advanced AIH who did not respond to conventional treatment.